Officers raid eight-liner game rooms in Falfurrias

FALFURRIAS - Federal, state and local authorities on Sunday raided more than a dozen Falfurrias eight-liner establishments in a massive operation that cut a large swath across town.

Agents from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Texas Department of Public Safety executed search warrants in what they called casinos that operate slot machines offering cash payoffs, which is illegal in Texas. Still, the popular centers have proliferated across South Texas.

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One group of stunned onlookers lamented the crackdown on entertainment. Others worried about the economic fallout of shuttering thriving businesses in this small, impoverished town of barely 5,000 residents.

The game rooms housed in windowless buildings of corrugated metal with simple neon signage have spread across Falfurrias in recent years, according to Chief Deputy Urbino ‘Benny’ Martinez of the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office, which supported the federal-state operation. About 14 places were raided on Sunday, but no arrests were made, Martinez said.

“It’s gone pretty well,” Martinez said. “It’ll probably run through the night until the morning.”

The U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement that the ongoing investigation involves various crimes.